Tuesday, October 25, 2016

It's Tuesday again and the weeks just keep flying by. We're heading into the holiday season which means the year will be over before we know it. I do love this time of year but hate how quickly it zooms by. It's time for some more rain which is great because it also means more snow in the mountains and we want another good ski year. Keep it coming!

Here are last week's pictures:

Day 291- Monday, 10/17/16

Bella and I found more colorful leaves on our evening walk. It's such a nice fall day and we can't get enough of it.

Day 292- Tuesday, 10/18/16

Homework today happened at the Starbucks in Target because our home WiFi was out for over 6 hrs. Most of Brandon's homework this year is done on the computer in google classrooms so internet access in a must. At least our location had sweet treats.

Day 293- Wednesday, 10/19/16

Brandon found his costume this year in our Halloween box so, score!--no need to buy a new one. I think both John and Tyler wore this costume in the past so we have gotten our money's worth.

Day 294- Thursday, 10/20/16

I'm done voting and will mail in my absentee ballot this week. Does this mean I no longer have to watch all those annoying political ads? I'm so sick of them and can't wit until this election is over.

Day 295- Friday, 10/21/16

Justin thought he wanted to be a scarecrow this year but then found this Pumpkinhead costume and couldn't resist. He loves the gloves just as much as the mask. I'm pretty sure neither of my kids have seen the movies they selected costumes from but that's ok--no need for nightmares.

Day 296- Saturday, 10/22/16
While I was with Justin learning all about caring for rabbits at the Front Street Shelter, Tyler sent us a picture of him at the Rose Bowl enjoying UCLA's homecoming game. I sure miss seeing that big smile on a daily basis.

Day 297- Sunday, 10/23/16

What a busy weekend day! John went for a morning ride, I made Sunday cinnamon rolls for the boys, and later Bella got a good wash down. She's not a huge fan of the bath but at least it was a nice sunny day for it. Rain expected late tomorrow!

That's it. See you next week on the first day in November--yikes! The good thing is that it means only a few more weeks until Tyler is home for a visit over Thanksgiving. I can't wait to see him in person.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Welcome back and happy Tuesday! After a wet weekend we are now enjoying some perfect fall weather. Yesterday was such a beautiful day after the big storm and a nice treat. I'm all for the rain but in small doses with frequent breaks ;0)

Here's a look at last week's pictures:

Day 284- Monday, 10/10/16

Brandon helped me set up the front entry over the past 2 weekends, and we love it. The pumpkins are perfect and the window clings he added are a great touch. Even Bella approves.

Day 285- Tuesday, 10/11/16

Justin is working on creating an engineering puzzle for homework tonight. He's really enjoying this class and may take more engineering classes in the future.

Day 286- Wednesday, 10/12/16

We're seeing more and more fall color around here. When I walk the dog my favorite thing to do is look for new colors and changing leaves. Mother nature is amazing!

Day 287- Thursday, 10/13/16

The new Christmas Lego catalog came in the mail today and Brandon found a few things he'd like to add to his list. They are Star Wars related, of course.

Day 288- Friday, 10/14/16

Bring on the rain! It was misting most the day and then really started to dump especially while I was waiting to pick up kids. Time to break out the winter jammies and turn on the fire. Mid October is pretty early for us to be doing this, but we're ok with that.

Day 289- Saturday, 10/15/16

Today we waited on more rain as the drops from last night lingered, but it never actually came until the overnight. Instead we got high winds and course on the one day my hair was not pulled back. I'd rather have the rain! Justin was happy it held off though. He was volunteering at the animal shelter and worked outside most of the time. Now he's home relaxing after his shift.

Day 290- Sunday, 10/16/16

Rusty joined me in the morning to check for more rain and rain it did today. It came down pretty good most of the day. Later we decided to have nice, warm, and spicy chicken wings to heat us all up for dinner. Justin was a happy boy.

That's it. See you next week. Halloween is creeping up on us. I need to get the kids' costumes pulled together. One kid knows what he wants to be and the other is still undecided.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Welcome back and happy Tuesday! You'll see a whole lot of pumpkin this week as we kick off fall and embrace October. Aside from too much school work it's a great time of year we all enjoy.

Here's a look at last week's pictures:

Day 277- Monday, 10/3/16

It was a cloudy, windy, and cold day with a little drizzle and after school flu shots for these two so we decided to hit up Starbucks for a warm treat. It may or may not have been my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season. Yum!

Day 278- Tuesday, 10/4/16

I love seeing my pumpkin collection out and on display. They make me happy, and I can even leave them up for almost 2 months since they work as Thanksgiving/fall decorations too. Perfection!

Day 279- Wednesday, 10/5/16

Brandon was happy to help me fill the fall candy dish with sweet treats as he took a break from homework. There was a lot of homework for him tonight. DOK stands for "depth of knowledge". He only had 3 depth of knowledge questions to answer but the responses to each were far from simple. Look how neat his handwriting is. It amazes me after having 2 other kids with poor penmanship. You can always count on a lefty to print nicely.

Day 280- Thursday, 10/6/16

This girl--she misses her Cheez-it buddy, Tyler, but I will do as a replacement until his return. Then after she was done with me she found Brandon and insisted on him holding her paw. LOL! She just can't get enough attention but none of us really mind ;0)

Day 281- Friday, 10/7/16

It's an even year and the Giants made are moving on in the playoffs thanks to a wild card win. This is the way they roll and John is a happy boy. Tonight is game 1 and he's ready to represent. Sadly they lost, but there's still time. Never underestimate the power of the Giants!

Day 282- Saturday, 10/8/16

This morning the boys and I hit up the pumpkin patch nice and early which was key--before the crowds and heat set in. We picked up some great pumpkins and then headed home. Later John and I went out to dinner and a movie on a date night and we selected places to eat and drink that were showing game 2 of the Giants against the Cubs ;0) Good food, great drinks, excellent movie but sadly another loss for the Giants. Almost a perfect night.

Day 283- Sunday, 10/9/16

Brandon helped me put up our huge spider this weekend. It normally goes over the front window but with new windows and screens it just doesn't stick there anymore so we hung it in our super tall entry. People will have to walk under it to get to the door and Brandon loves it there. It does look pretty cool and creepy but needs a web anchor on either side to keep it from swaying in the wind. Next weekends project. In the afternoon I made 5 mini loaves of pumpkin bread and the younger boys picked 2 we could send to Tyler. Pumpkin bread is one of his fall favorites. I'll be dropping them in the mail tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Welcome back, happy Tuesday, and happy October! Fall is here and this past weekend it even felt like it. It felt wonderful with the rain and all. I know it won't last, but it was still a nice break for now, and I look forward to more.

Here's a peek at last week's pictures:

Day 270- Monday, 9/26/16

This was not the best start to my work week with backed up traffic before 6 am on I-80 headed across the causeway to Davis. It was a parking lot out there. Usually I have an easy traffic-free commute in the early mornings but not today. At least once I got to work the rest of my day was all good. After work, I picked Justin up from school and took him in for a dentist appointment. He's all clean and clear for the next 6 months.

Day 271- Tuesday, 9/27/16

Time for a Target run and look--only 2 gallons of milk this trip. I most certainly am buying less food and goods these days with one less kid in the house. We do miss him though. I even sent him this picture of Rusty waking up from a nap to say hi. He got a kick out of that and said he's doing well and his classes are going great, but he does have a cold with a cough. I do hate to hear that since I can't keep an eye on it, but he knows what to do to help make it better and if not he'll see a doctor at the health center.

Day 272- Wednesday, 9/28/16

It's a peaceful afternoon with some quiet reading time. Now he's reading a book his whole class has to read together called Freak the Mighty, and even though he usually doesn't like assigned readings he's finding this book pretty interesting.

Day 273- Thursday, 9/29/16

Justin now has Tyler's old laptop and is trying to get used to it. John cleaned it up, got it running better, and bought a new battery so it holds the charge now. Tonight Justin is using it to create a flyer for his new video-game club. He's forming the club with a few of his friends and will be the president this year. They are hoping to have their first meeting in 2 weeks.

Day 274- Friday, 9/30/16

After a REALLY warm start to the week pushing triple digits, things considerably cooled today as the wind picked up and the leaves blew around. What a perfect day for baking some after-school cookies. Yum!

Day 275- Saturday, 10/1/16

Happy October! Brandon was excited to help me unpack our Halloween boxes and decorate the house for fall. After taking his picture with the monthly marker, I started texting Tyler so we could work on his financial aid application for next year. Thankfully we got it done and submitted in record time. Tyler then went to a home water polo game and later a home football game. Victory! This time they won and he's loving every minute of being a part of all that. The school spirit and pride at UCLA is super fun and infectious and that's one thing he really wanted as part of his college experience. We watched on TV and tried to look for him in the student section but that section is huge and they all wear the same shirt so we had no luck. Would it be too much to ask for him told up a huge sign saying "Hi mom and dad" next home game? ;0)

Day 276- Sunday, 10/2/16

It's raining, it's pouring . . . for a few minutes anyway. It came down good and hard for about 10-20 minutes and that was it, but still it rained and there was snow in the mountains in early October! We want and need more. Another wet winter would be great. Rainy day weather makes for perfect homemade pizza weather and so that's what we had for dinner. So much work but oh so good--there is nothing like our homemade pizza.

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you next week.